Quitting smoking at home: proven methods

Two of my colleagues decided to quit smoking at the same time.One of them successfully realized his intention and has been going without a cigarette for three years now.And another, like Mark Twain, quit more than once - it lasted until the first event with alcohol.

In general, both have a happy attitude towards alcohol, they can drink together on the occasion of holidays or on vacation, but one remains resistant to tobacco products, and the other cannot stand it.

At the same time, both of them live a busy life, periodically go to the gym, to the cinema and to concerts, go rafting, fishing and mushroom picking.They often do this together.

So what is the power of an addiction and why do some people manage to resist it and others not?

“Let’s smoke, comrade, one at a time...”

Everyone is already more or less aware that a smoker’s addiction develops at the level of the body and at the level of the psyche.Physiological dependence develops over time; nicotine becomes a necessary link in metabolism.When its content is reduced, the body feels a lack of something familiar and signals: “I want more!”

Advertising of anti-tobacco products relies on this addiction, calling for switching to an electronic cigarette instead of a regular cigarette or chewing special gum - that is, trying to deceive the body.

But experts (psychologists, narcologists) know that the main reason for addiction is psychological.This is the reason why you started smoking, it was before the first cigarette.Freud called smoking a consequence of oral fixation, a desire to return to a state of comfort and security next to the mother's breast.For the same reason, people overeat or chew on something incessantly.Because of this, by the way, a myth has arisen that those who quit smoking risk gaining weight.This only happens if they fill the void with food without addressing the root cause of the addiction.

There are other reasons for smoking: for some it is a way to concentrate, for others it is an aesthetic ritual or an invented image.Please note: in old films everyone smokes.Aristocrats and actresses blow smoke rings aesthetically;a cigarette among soldiers serves as a symbol of brotherhood;cowboys puff on a cigar or cigarette;Holmes and Poirot are brilliant while smoking;there is nothing to say about the Indian peace pipe.Perhaps this is the machinations of tobacco companies who are trying to join the ranks of their victims.“I would ban it even now if you find an equally profitable virtue,” said Napoleon III.

A romantic flair creates a belief: if you light a cigarette, you are a macho man or a fatal beauty;smart and mysterious;above others, chosen;a creative person;a good guy, a true friend.Everyone chooses what they want, and only one remedy is offered – nicotine.

The environment plays a huge role: if parents smoke, the child takes this as a model from childhood;if there are a lot of smokers in a company, there is a desire to join the majority, especially if this is a new job (class or group of an educational institution) and the person wants to join the team.Teenagers may have peer pressure to prove their maturity to them.And, of course, simple human curiosity.

What happens when you quit smoking?A person finds himself out of place in a company, timid and unable to meet a girl without a cigarette, experiencing constant discomfort, stressed for any reason, nervous, irritable, and so on.Many run the risk of breaking down and grabbing the “pacifier” again.

Talking about the dangers of smoking for health: lung cancer, gangrene of the extremities, problems with blood vessels, heart, stroke, heart attack, bad skin, difficulties with pregnancy, problems with potency, the prospect of dying early - do not enlighten, but only irritate smokers.

Even if your voice is hoarse, plaque has appeared on your teeth and tongue, chest cough, shortness of breath, phlegm, aching, insomnia, pulsation in the temples - the first symptoms of impending troubles - this does not help you overcome your addiction.Education (memos to schoolchildren and parents, lectures by doctors, instructions from sports coaches, etc.) plays a major role at the prevention stage in order to keep people from smoking the first cigarette.

Not everyone is concerned about the issue of money: they say, I can afford it.A car, a trip and other pleasures, which theoretically can be bought with the money saved, are for a smoker a symbol of deprivation and limitation in other needs.

That is why, if you decide to quit smoking, it is important to get to the root of the problem - to understand what smoking brings to you (what it gets rid of) and how to satisfy this need in a different way.Otherwise, the smoker will be hampered by the fear that he is losing something by giving up nicotine and will be left without support and support.

Realize that this is an addiction and you are not losing anything, but getting rid of it.

Ways to get rid of addiction

• “Various proprietary techniques.Here are two of them: "The Easy Way to Quit Smoking" by Allen Carr. I interviewed a dozen friends who were former smokers, and three of them responded that this book had helped them.It was written in 1985 and is still the world's most popular guide to quitting smoking.Postulates:It’s easy to start living without nicotine at any age; willpower is not only unnecessary, but rather a hindrance.Those who quit smoking with the help of willpower, according to the author, experience torment - due to the feeling that they are overcoming something, enduring hardships.There is no point in fighting tobacco smoking - the war is exhausting. You just need to make a conscious decision and “not hope, but know that you have already quit smoking by making such a decision.”And everything will be painless. The author uses his experience as a former smoker with 33 years of experience and convincingly conveys to readers that they will only benefit by giving up addiction. “Four Stinking Sighs” by Vladimir Zhdanov- a well-known technique. Designed to awaken an aversion to smoking.To do this, the sensations from smoking are brought to the maximum: tobacco smoke must be held in the mouth, chewed with your mouth closed and your head thrown back.After 30 seconds, you can push the smoke into your lungs.You will want to cough, you will choke, you will begin to feel sick - but you need to take 2 more puffs while chewing the smoke. The fourth time you need to take in lungs full of smoke.Then, straining your abdominal muscles, cough it out for a long time.Record on the pack the date and time when you took 4 smelly breaths.You can't smoke anymore.If it becomes unbearable, chew the smoke again.
• With the help of a doctor.If you trust traditional medicine more or suffer from chronic diseases, you can contact a medical center.Discuss with a specialist whether to quit immediately or gradually, whether it is worth replacing the cigarette with something else at first.The doctor will advise a diet, select sedatives, antidepressants, monitor blood pressure and monitor changes at different stages.
• Coding, hypnosis.It affects the subconscious, the goal is to develop a conditioned reflex against smoking.The specialist can put the patient into a state of hypnotic sleep, but this is not necessary.

So, my good friend once downloaded for his mother, a smoker with almost 30 years of experience, a psychotherapeutic session aimed at quickly getting rid of addiction.Mom watched the video, and a few days later the family suddenly realized that she did not smoke.It doesn’t last, I even threw away the open pack.Surprisingly, but true: more than 10 years have passed since then.

• Neurolinguistic programming.One of the presuppositions (axioms) of NLP is: “Change can be instantaneous.”Various NLP techniques are aimed at quickly replacing negative with positive, reprogramming consciousness.You can contact a psychologist who uses this method.
• Acupuncture.Changes the conditioned reflex, which is smoking.The reflexologist acts on certain points and interrupts the chain of impulses.

You yourself can, whenever you want to smoke, use your finger to massage the point in the front of the throat, in the middle of the pit at the base of the neck, in the depression.

Press hard until it hurts, count to threeand let go.Repeat 15 times.It is better to do the procedure while sitting or lying down - weakness and dizziness may occur due to decreased pressure.

• Abrupt abolition of cigarettes in a new environment, with a move.Settle in a remote place without access to cigarette products or travel with non-smoking friends.In a month you can change: cleanse yourself and get used to not smoking.Radical and effective.
• Throwing yourself into work, sports, and creativity.Participation in congresses, festivals, competitions, etc. You need a calendar without days off, a busy schedule for quitting smoking.The point is to make it interesting, then you will be less likely to remember your habit - sorry, addiction.
• Restructuring of consciousness: passion for spiritual teachings, healthy lifestyle, departure to an eco-village, pilgrimage to holy places, and the like.One of my friends quit smoking, getting carried away by Torsunov’s lectures, Ayurveda, and Krishnaism.Many years have passed since then, she has ceased to be a Hare Krishna, she is neutral towards religions, but she still does not smoke.

Here it is important to monitor your own roof, that is, your psyche;there is a risk of becoming a fan, a sectarian, a hostage of the black teaching.But in general, it is an effective way; it is not for nothing that in rehabilitation centers they often exchange alcohol or drug addiction for adherence to some religion.

• Substitutes: Electronic cigarette.The method is controversial.Now they say that using it is harmful, the substances inside are toxic, and the effect of the cigarette itself as a means of quitting smoking is small.Nevertheless, there are people whom it really helped.Nicotine gum, tablets, patches, hookah, herbal cigars, vapes and the like.Allan Carr categorically calls for quitting smoking immediately, once and for all, and forgetting about such cigarette substitutes.But, as practice shows, many people use them successfully.For example, the colleague mentioned at the beginning of the material quit smoking, gradually reducing the number of cigarettes, while taking popular anti-smoking pills.He had powerful motivation.So you can choose any method, just stay true to the decision to get rid of cigarettes forever.
• Quit - that's all.An old friend of mine, once a heavy smoker with 20 years of experience, did just that - without books, techniques, chewing gum or electronic cigarettes.And he doesn’t believe that it’s difficult to cope on his own.After all, the main thing is to decide!

Advice for the brave

What time to start a new life?There is an opinion that if a cigarette helps you relax after hard work, you should give it up on vacation, when you are not already stressed.If, on the contrary, you are used to smoking on vacation, then during the withdrawal period you need to load yourself with activities to the fullest extent.

Another approach- on the contrary, choose a situation that makes your head spin in order to understand: if you survived such stress without a cigarette, you can continue to live without it.The same Carr, having gone through these options, came to the conclusion that there is no need to choose the time, so as not to procrastinate and not to deceive himself.The best time is RIGHT NOW.

1. If possible, remove anything related to smoking from sight, hearing and smell.Get rid of ashtrays, lighters, cigarettes.
2. If you decide to quit gradually, buy a pack only after finishing the previous one.Don't take in blocks.Reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke per day.Smoke the cigarette only halfway and do not take deep puffs.Wash your hands, change clothes so as not to smell tobacco.
3. Try to consciously be in a balanced state, avoid stressful situations.
4. Try to get interested in something.If you already have a hobby, devote more time to it.
5. Provide yourself with pleasant physical activity: slow jogging in the morning, gym, fitness, yoga, wushu...
6. Breathing exercises have proven themselves to be excellent in the fight against smoking.Try yoga breathing or other similar practices.They help saturate the body with oxygen, calm the mind and soul.It is better to work out with a trainer first - he will make sure that you do the exercises correctly.
7. Massage and meditation will also help you relax and have fun without using nicotine.
8. Avoid places and companies where people smoke, try not to breathe smoke.But don’t go to extremes, so as not to fall out of society and feel loneliness.If your friends smoke, this is not a reason to avoid them or envy them, change your attitude to the situation: you have already freed yourself, but they have not yet.It is not smoking that brings them pleasure, but they cannot enjoy life without a cigarette.
9. Those who have walked this path say that the first week is the hardest (but it’s quite possible to endure it!), and after three weeks without nicotine, the body is cleansed, rebuilt, and improvement occurs.

Treat your condition as a slight ailment, try not to succumb to the tricks of the brain like “just one cigarette”, “it’s hard not to smoke now, I’ll choose a more appropriate moment to quit.”Keep a diary: “I quit smoking – the consequences by day.”Note how you feel and record the result: a week, a month, three without poisoning yourself.

If it’s difficult for you to quit smoking instantly, then try this scheme:

The first 10 days – 15 cigarettes per day.
Another 20 days - 10 cigarettes.
Next month - no more than five pieces per day.
Then, every week, reduce the number of “nicotine sticks” smoked by exactly one piece.As a result, in three months you will reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke to zero.

Review your diet

In general, sweets help overcome drug addiction, but give preference to slow carbohydrates, such as fruits (rather than candy).

• Drink more clean water - it cleanses the body and reduces cravings for nicotine.
• Be sure to eat honey - stir a teaspoon in a glass of water in the morning and drink on an empty stomach.
• Replenish vitamin C reserves - nicotine removes it from the body.Citrus and currant juices will replenish your supply of this vitamin and help in your anti-tobacco campaign.
• Avoid alcohol and coffee.Eat less spicy, smoked and salty foods - all this provokes smoking.Recommendedliver, boiled potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, eggplants, tomatoes, cucumbers, peanuts, peas, beans, bread, sea fish, carrots and other products with a small content of nicotinic acid.

Thus, it became known as dulling the desire to smoke.cold (!) salad fromboiled potatoes, fried eggplants and fresh tomatoes.

• Carry with you and chew when you want to smoke: “laces” of cheese (if you want, in a cigarette pack, just watch the calories so as not to gain weight);pineapple - fresh or candied without sugar;nuts, seeds (preferably pumpkin seeds);dried fruits.
• Drink milk - it is now due to you “for its harmfulness”, it cleanses the lungs, throat and bronchi.
• Scrolling lemon and honey through a meat grinder (1:1) will also help get rid of the effects of smoking.For a month, eat a tablespoon before meals.

How to reduce the craving for smoking - popular advice

1. Chew horseradish and plantain (fresh leaves in equal quantities).The juice should be swallowed and the greens should be spat out.Do not drink or binge.Repeat several times a day.

For the same purpose, use ginger, calamus root, a sprig of fresh bird cherry or turnip.

2. Before smoking, wet the cigarette in some fermented milk product (kefir, yogurt, etc.).Smoking will be unpleasant, the habit will weaken.
3. The old-fashioned way is to mix dried oats into tobacco.
4. Pour boiling water (1 liter) over oats, rye, millet and barley (all 100 g), and keep on the stove for 8-10 minutes.Strain the broth and place in a thermos.It will be ready in a day.Drink half a glass 3-5 times a day before meals.

Oats are generally very good for withdrawal symptoms (withdrawal).It perfectly restores vitality, calms, improves sleep, and instills an aversion to nicotine.

There are many cooking recipes.Before going to bed, you can grind the grains (1 tbsp) and add cooled water (2 cups).In the morning, boil and drink instead of tea.

5. Decoction: St. John's wort (1 tbsp), wild rosemary (0.5 tbsp), boiling water (600 ml).Keep on low heat for 20 minutes.Then dilute half with water.Sugar, honey or jam - to taste.They drink this tea 5-7 times a day, but you should not take it late in the evening.The course of admission is one month.Attention: it is dangerous to use for pregnant women and during breastfeeding, tuberculosis patients, and people whose skin reacts to the sun.

Attention: it is dangerous to use for pregnant women and during breastfeeding, tuberculosis patients, and people whose skin reacts to the sun.

6. Add chicory, nettle, mint and valerian to black tea (ratio 2:1:1:1:1).Use as tea.
7. Take equal proportions of blackcurrant, oregano and mint leaves.Make an infusion in a thermos (5 tablespoons per liter of boiling water).Drink 100 ml 30 minutes before meals.The course is one month.
8. Eucalyptus (1 tbsp leaves) plus boiling water (400 ml).After an hour, add glycerin and honey (1 tablespoon each) to the resulting infusion.Drink a quarter glass 4-5 times a day for a month.
9. Burdock juice mixed with water.Drink before bed for a month.

Burdock, by the way, is actively used in the treatment of cancer patients, so it is useful from all sides.

10. And finally, the most exotic way.You need to get the crayfish, dry it in the shade, then grind it into powder.A small amount of this powder is mixed with tobacco and smoked.After this, even the most avid smoker should forget about his addiction.

Good luck and may the Force be with you!